Cinematographer:

Editor:

Production Designer:

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Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, and Richard Gere were among the actors considered for the role of “Nick Curran,” which ultimately went to Michael Douglas, as announced in a 16 Jul 1990 HR brief. Douglas’s salary was estimated to be between $10.5 and $15 million “plus percentage,” according to the 19 Jul 1990 DV. Producer Irwin Winkler stated the film would cost under $40 million. However, a 13 Mar 1992 Screen International item listed the budget as $43 million.
Paul Verhoeven signed on to direct in late Jul 1990, according to a 30 Jul 1990 DV item, which noted that filming would begin in Jan 1991. However, on 21 Jan 1991, DV reported that screen testing for the female lead was still underway. Actresses under consideration for the role of “Catherine Tramell” included Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Melanie Griffith, Geena Davis, Mariel Hemingway, and Sharon Stone, although, according to a 21 Jan 1991 New York brief, some actresses turned down the role on the basis that the script was too misogynistic. Verhoeven fought for Sharon Stone, who had appeared in his 1990 film Total Recall (see entry), “against everybody’s advice,” as she was a lesser-known performer. Stone was initially tested months before casting began, and was hired by the end of Jan 1991, according to a 10 Feb 1991 LAT brief.
In Aug 1990, Joe Eszterhas and Irwin Winkler left the project over creative differences with Carolco, Paul Verhoeven, and Michael Douglas, according to a 22 Aug 1990 DV news item. Eszterhas and Winkler initially asked for ...
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Los Angeles premiere: 18 March 1992 Los Angeles and New York openings: 20 March 1992

Production Date:

began 5 April 1991

Copyright Claimant:

Carolco Pictures, Inc., & Le Studio Canal+, S.A.

Copyright Date:

20 April 1992

Copyright Number:

PA561820

Physical Properties:

Sound

Spectral Recording Dolby Stereo SR™ in selected theatres

Color

Duration(in mins):

122

MPAA Rating:

R

Countries:

France, United States

Language:

English

PCA No:

31380

Passed by NBR:

No

SYNOPSIS

In San Francisco, California, a wealthy nightclub owner and former rock and roll star is tied to his bed and murdered mid-coitus by a woman with blonde hair. Detective Nick Curran and his partner, Gus, investigate the crime scene, and learn that the murder weapon was an ice pick. They seek out Catherine Tramell, the girl friend of murder victim, Johnny Boz. Catherine, a wealthy heiress and novelist, reacts coolly to news of Boz’s death and claims their relationship was purely sexual. Although she was seen leaving Boz’s nightclub with him, Catherine denies they went home together. That afternoon, Nick Curran meets with police psychologist Beth Garner. He reports that he has quit drinking, smoking, and taking drugs, and has not had sex outside their recent fling. Nick asks Beth to tell the Internal Affairs department that he no longer needs counseling, and she agrees. Confirming that Catherine Tramell is a murder suspect, police lieutenant Walker notes that she has no prior convictions, is worth $110 million, and was formerly married to a professional boxer who died in the ring. Under the pen name “Catherine Woolf,” she wrote a novel called Love Hurts. Ironically, the story is about a former rock and roll star murdered by his girl friend. Nick obtains a copy and discovers the fictional murder weapon was also an ice pick. Dr. Andrew Lamott, a specialist on psychopathic behavior, suggests Catherine is either the killer or the target of someone who wants to do her harm. If she did commit the murder, he predicts she will use her book as an alibi ...
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In San Francisco, California, a wealthy nightclub owner and former rock and roll star is tied to his bed and murdered mid-coitus by a woman with blonde hair. Detective Nick Curran and his partner, Gus, investigate the crime scene, and learn that the murder weapon was an ice pick. They seek out Catherine Tramell, the girl friend of murder victim, Johnny Boz. Catherine, a wealthy heiress and novelist, reacts coolly to news of Boz’s death and claims their relationship was purely sexual. Although she was seen leaving Boz’s nightclub with him, Catherine denies they went home together. That afternoon, Nick Curran meets with police psychologist Beth Garner. He reports that he has quit drinking, smoking, and taking drugs, and has not had sex outside their recent fling. Nick asks Beth to tell the Internal Affairs department that he no longer needs counseling, and she agrees. Confirming that Catherine Tramell is a murder suspect, police lieutenant Walker notes that she has no prior convictions, is worth $110 million, and was formerly married to a professional boxer who died in the ring. Under the pen name “Catherine Woolf,” she wrote a novel called Love Hurts. Ironically, the story is about a former rock and roll star murdered by his girl friend. Nick obtains a copy and discovers the fictional murder weapon was also an ice pick. Dr. Andrew Lamott, a specialist on psychopathic behavior, suggests Catherine is either the killer or the target of someone who wants to do her harm. If she did commit the murder, he predicts she will use her book as an alibi and argue that no one would be stupid enough to commit a murder they detailed in a novel. Catherine is brought in for questioning. Wearing a short dress and no underwear, she taunts the detectives, and says her next book is about a detective who falls in love with the wrong woman. As expected, she denies any involvement in Boz’s death, arguing that she is too smart to commit a murder in the manner she described in her book. Catherine offers to take a lie-detector test, and passes. Afterward, as Nick drives her home, they discuss how difficult it would be to beat a polygraph. Catherine says it would be easy, since she lies for a living, and points out that Nick passed his lie-detector test when he was accused of shooting innocent people. Nick asks how Catherine knows so much about him, but she does not answer. At a police bar, he starts drinking again, and tells his colleagues that Catherine should remain a suspect despite beating the polygraph. Lt. Walker disagrees. Meanwhile, Lt. Nilsen from Internal Affairs teases Nick, calling him “Shooter,” and expresses concern over his drinking. Dr. Beth Garner arrives and takes Nick home. He initiates rough sex that Beth finds unsettling. Afterward, she confesses that she met Catherine Tramell at Berkeley, where they both studied psychology, but says nothing more. The next day, Nick learns that Noah Goldstein, a Berkeley professor, was murdered with an ice pick in 1977, at the time Catherine was a student. He is assigned to follow Catherine, and tracks her to a residence in Mill Valley, where she visits a woman named Hazel Dobkins. Nick discovers that Dobkins is a convicted murderer. He goes to Catherine’s beach house for more questioning. On Catherine’s desk are newspaper clippings about incidents in which Nick was accused of shooting innocent bystanders in the line of duty. Catherine reveals that her new book is based on him, and asks how it feels to kill someone. Nick, who was an undercover vice cop involved in dangerous drug buys, claims the shootings were accidents, but Catherine notes that there were four “accidental” shootings in only five years. Nicks asks Catherine about Professor Noah Goldstein and Hazel Dobkins. She admits Goldstein was her counselor, and that she became friends with Hazel after using her for research. Catherine turns the questioning back on Nick, asking how much cocaine he had consumed the day he shot two tourists. Nick denies being on drugs at the time, but Catherine continues to probe, saying Internal Affairs knew Nick was using drugs, as did Nick’s wife, who eventually committed suicide. Nick grabs Catherine’s hand and twists her arm behind her back, but they are interrupted by Catherine’s girl friend, Roxy. Back at the police station, Nick storms into Beth’s office and demands to know who has seen his psychiatric file. Beth admits she gave it to Lt. Nilsen. Nick attacks Nilsen in his office, accusing him of selling the file to Catherine Tramell. Nilsen puts Nick on sick leave, pending another psychiatric evaluation. Beth stops by Nick’s apartment to apologize, claiming she shared his file with Lt. Nilsen to keep him from getting discharged. Later that night, Nilsen is found dead in an alley. When Nick is questioned, Beth provides him with an alibi. Before he leaves the station, he learns that Catherine Tramell’s wealthy parents died in a boating accident, leaving her $10 million in life insurance payments. An investigation took place, but no evidence of foul play was found. Nick suspects Catherine killed Nilsen. When he returns home, Catherine is waiting with a copy of her novel, The First Time, about a boy who kills his parents and makes it look like an accident. They arrange to meet that night at Johnny Boz’s nightclub. There, Nick finds Catherine on the dance floor, and they kiss. She takes him home, and they have sex. Nick finds Roxy in Catherine’s bathroom, and she threatens him to stay away. In the morning, he mentions Roxy’s jealousy to Catherine, but she dismisses him. In the city, Nick is nearly run over by a car. The driver, Roxy, speeds away. Nick chases her, and she loses control, plunging over a hillside to her death. Again, Nick is questioned by police, and subjected to a psychiatric evaluation. Returning to Catherine’s beach house, he finds her crying over Roxy’s death and lamenting that everyone she cares about dies. They make love. Catherine admits she paid $50,000 for Nick’s psychiatric file months ago because she planned on writing a book about him. She also reveals that in college, she slept with a girl named Lisa Hoberman, who became obsessed with her. Nick investigates and finds that Lisa Hoberman changed her name to Beth Garner. Meanwhile, Gus discovers Roxy was convicted of murder at age fourteen, and tries to convince Nick to stay away from Catherine. However, Nick is no longer certain that Catherine is guilty. He goes to Beth Garner’s apartment and asks about her sexual relationship with Catherine. Beth admits she slept with her once, but Catherine developed an obsession with her. Having heard the opposite story from Catherine, Nick does not know who to believe. Later, Catherine tells him she filed a police report on Beth, but when he goes in search of it, he sees it was checked out by Lt. Nilsen. He also learns that Beth’s ex-husband was shot to death, but Beth was never a suspect, despite police findings that she had a mistress at the time of the murder. Once Catherine finishes her book, she callously breaks up with Nick, saying she no longer needs him for research. Nick meets with Gus, on his way to interview Catherine’s college roommate at an office building. There, Gus instructs Nick to wait in the car. However, Nick becomes paranoid and runs inside. He finds Gus’s body in a pool of blood. Just then, Beth emerges from the stairwell and Nick points his gun at her. Confused, Beth says she was told to meet Gus there. Nick orders her to remove her hand from her coat pocket. When she hesitates, he shoots her. As she dies, she whispers that she loved Nick. Backup police arrive and discover a blonde wig, a police department rain slicker, and a bloody ice pick in the stairwell, pointing to Beth’s guilt. They search her apartment and find a drawer filled with photographs of Catherine Tramell, and a copy of her novel, Love Hurts. Nick is congratulated on tracking down the killer. He returns home to find Catherine waiting for him. She hints that she pushed him away because she loses everyone she cares about. Nick embraces her, and they make love. Afterward, Catherine asks what they do now, and Nick suggests they live happily ever after. Catherine fumbles for an ice pick hidden below the bed, but does not pick it up before they start kissing again.
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